Today marks the first death anniversary of journalist and activist Gauri Lankesh who was shot dead outside her Bengaluru residence on 5 September 2017.
Activists demanded strict measures to ban the radical Hindu group, Sanatan Sanstha, which has alleged links with the assassination of the scribe. Meanwhile, Lankesh’s weekly publication Gauri Lankesh Patrike returned to business on 5 September 2018 with a new name, Nyaya Patha, and a special issue.
Forces Ruling the Country Are Crushing Dissent: Varadarajan
Speaking at the event, Siddharth Vardarajan said that the forces ruling the country were running a project to silence all voices of dissent and that even assassinations (are an option) if need be...and even arrests to crush dissent to create a false fear psychosis.
Girish Karnad Declares Himself an Urban Naxal
Author Girish Karnad attended the event wearing a board saying “Me Too Urban Naxal”.
The Pen Is All That Writers and Thinkers Have, Says Chandrashekhar Patil
Noted Kannada writer Professor Chandrashekhar Patil, also on the hit list of the killers behind Lankesh’s murder, said that the pen was all that writers and thinkers like him had and that they would fight back. Patil also announced that he would restart his column in the paper Nyaya Patha.
Gauri Memorial Trust Releases Pen in Memory of Lankesh
At the event, the Gauri Memorial Trust released a pen with a photograph and signature of Gauri Lankesh.
Veteran journalist Siddharth Varadarajan, Editor, The Wire also released a Kannada weekly tabloid Nyaya Patha, which will be run by Gauri Memorial trust.